Here’s Why This Photo Is Hard To Look At
The body language from everyone speaks loud and clear.
Let’s talk power imbalance for a moment.
Immediately when this photo was posted, many people commented on the body language of the young woman.
And of course, there were loads of comments about the body language of the men surrounding her. Like a pack.
Threatening. Taking up space. Imposing. Dominant. Important.
What may not be immediately obvious to those outside of Australia is who the man is in this photo. The man in the centre of the photo with the blue hat is the current Australian Prime Minster, Scott Morrison, visiting a Sydney surf life saving club in February this year.
The body language reads loud and clear here and it sends messages. To both men and women. And it is those messages that are the problem.
What this photo says about women, to women
I found it curious to read one persons comment to this photo. They asked, “where are people supposed to put their hands?”
Perhaps this person simply didn’t see what others saw in this photo — an example of power so perfectly captured as a pack mentality.
This photo says that these men — white, in positions of power, authority, perceived importance — lack self awareness of this very privilege they hold. An awareness that would allow them to choose an alternative behaviour, to be aware of their own potential for impact of those around them.
It’s just awareness. And it seems so simple.
But as many women experience daily, the uncomfortable feeling of this young women’s body language radiated to many. What is that feeling?
It is the feeling of a power imbalance personified into a look, a stance or a comment.
It is a group of men standing at a street corner leading to you having that feeling in the pit of your belly as you approach them.
It is your on-guard subconscious working overtime while alone in confined public spaces or public transport.
It is getting into a male driven Uber and something in your brain, just for a split second, signals you to be wary.
It is the message behind the just-long-enough-to-cause-discomfort, type stare.
It is the man taking up of all the space on the seat next to you on the train, the physical act of minimising you.
It is being told to ‘smile’ by a male stranger.
It is that feeling of unsafe. And not even knowing why.
Attitudes perpetuate behaviour
I’ve worked in domestic violence and sexual assault services for years. The message we try to get across to people is that acts of violence perpetrated against women are founded on a culture of dominance, inequality and power.
It is this behaviour then that continues the narrative of inequality.
Within gendered violence, we encourage everyone to challenge beliefs that can swiftly become accepted behaviours.
Slowly, there is the ongoing work towards understanding that sexist jokes are not funny and that harmless words and misogynistic behaviours will be held to public scrutiny.
That’s a start. But when you have men in positions of power demonstrate over and over again the opposite, this perpetuates those very behaviours that reinforce the powerful vs the perceived powerless.
Thankfully, there is increased understanding that displays of dominance, such as in this photo, are being called out for what they are: men perpetuating their own sense of self-importance laden with insecurity.
The dissolve of the power imbalance and creation of gender equality and respect belongs to everyone. Both men and women must play their part in demonstrating behaviours that challenge this belief and call out other men who do not fall into line.
Women, as being roughly 50% of the population cannot be held 100% accountable for creating this change.
Expectations are low, but not that low.
The Prime Minister and his office should be exemplary in their behaviour, and their words. They should set the expectation for behaviour change to occur and hold themselves to account when they do not.
I expect the leader of my country to be self-aware. To understand that as Prime Minister — as a white man, a wealthy and powerful man by virtue of this position — has been granted an automatic power imbalance over many.
I expect my Prime Minister to be aware of the impact he has on others. To be self-aware of how his presence makes others feel or even to those who behave in likeness. And learn from that.
I expect everyone, including the leader of a country to be an example of change. A change of culture, of demonstrating respectful behaviour and leading the charge to call out others who do not follow this example.
As I say, low and basic expectations. Like other white-male-dominant political environments, this culture is a legacy from those who have come before him.
Back in 2012, the then PM Julia Gillard delivered a powerful speech known around the world as ‘the misogyny speech’.
This speech in parliament was in response to the years of misogynic behaviour aimed at her by the former Minister for Women, and the then leader of the opposition, Tony Abbott.
“I will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man. Not now. Not ever.” Julia Gillard.
A speech that sits powerfully alongside the likes of other women in politics, such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s, who also called out ongoing sexist and threatening behaviour.
Ironically, Tony Abbott later went on to become Australian Prime Minister. The very same man who quipped “What the housewives of Australia need to understand as they do the ironing…”
His election win continued to fuel the same narrative.
If this is not a time for change, then when?
In the past few weeks, this government lead by Scott Morrison has been in damage control after a young female staffer, Brittany Higgins, disclosed being raped in parliamentary office in 2019 by a male staffer.
Since this disclosure and to date, four other women have come forward with their own experiences of sexual assault from this same man.
The PM, claiming to have never been informed at all of any crimes, responded to the accusation that his government harbored a culture of sexism by saying:
“If any workplace thinks that this (behaviour) is just confined to the parliament, they’re kidding themselves”.
While sadly this may be true, we are not talking about an everyday workplace — this is the country's parliament.
This attitude is a failure to hold responsibility.
A culture of minimisation.
An attitude of victim-blaming.
A hum-ho attitude of inevitability threaded with the normalising of violent and criminal behaviours.
So while the beach photo may appear to many to be a group of men who felt they had no where else to put their hands, it is these seemingly insignificant micro-aggressions that continue to spin the same narrative …
After all of what we are hearing in Australia and around the world at the moment, if this does not spark a cultural change, a systemic shakeup and a new approach — what will?
